Elimination Communication: Sharing Your Reviews

My Part Time EC eBook is dedicated to helping you reduce your diaper or nappy use as you gently and gradually practice Elimination Communication with your baby.

Build YOUR EC Confidence and Discover its Natural Joys!

On this page you’ll see some of the nice comments I’ve received by parents sharing about the positive experiences practicing Elimination Communication is having or has had on their lives.

Purchase your own copy of my eBook ‘Part Time EC: A Personal Guide to Developing Your Elimination Communication Confidence’

What are people saying about my Elimination Communication Resources:

Puddin’ Pop and I started to EC because we do cloth diapers.

Since I was changing her diaper right away after she pooped, why not put her on the potty to poop?

That worked out pretty well so we started to sit on the potty after she woke up in the morning and after naps. Some days it works out well, some days not so well but I’ll always grateful we are trying!

Tara and Puddin’ Pop from Michigan in the United States.

Thanks for your website Charndra, I love it!! You really have helped keep me motivated 🙂

I liked having new EC ideas to think about and it made each week more exciting. If I was having an off day/few days, I felt renewed inspiration with each secret 🙂

I felt discouraged many times as I started EC because of all the missed pees…there were so many!!! But a new EC related email in my inbox every week was very encouraging and I was always excited to read about it which helped me stay motivated.

I really liked reading everything! I love the rambling!!That’s one of the things I liked the best about your site…I didn’t feel like I was reading a textbook on EC but rather YOUR personal experiences which made me realize that my experiences don’t have to be the same but could be just as successful.

I’ve been having trouble with my daughter’s (5 mo) signs and signals….basically I don’t think she tells me very often before a poop/pee. However now that she’s 5 months I feel that I’m doing a lot better at just using timing since she’s peeing a lot less often.

There were some moments during the first month of EC (around 3-4 months old) when I was thinking I was crazy for doing this since she peed ALL THE TIME but now things are going better. She pees very well on cue. During the day when I’m at home I like to just keep her diaper free (so addicting) with just a prefold under her. She’s still in disposables when we’re out and at night…

Ariel, Living in Paris, France, originally from NY, USA

Hi Charndra:
I found your site during the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt in May and immediately bookmarked the webpage. It’s been fun receiving your emails and learning about EC.

Our second daughter was born mid-late May, so I didn’t get to read all the emails immediately, nor did I get to try things out with our oldest (now 18 months) at that time. But my in-laws are Chinese and they were commenting that they are shocked our oldest still needs diapers…so a week and a half ago, I finally got to sit down and read thru the rest of the EC emails you sent.

WOW…so easy and so fun! We started THIS WEEK…and in 5 days time has pooped in the potty at LEAST once a day, and peed several times a day in the toilet. (We have use so fewer diapers in just one week of trying this!–which makes laundry for two in cloth much simpler!)

She used to be such a heavy wetter that her diapers were soaked and leaked during the overnights, even with the best of diapers and extra inserts…now (this week) she wakes up with only moderately moist inserts (not even close to full) after 12 hours sleep.

She seems very excited and pleased with herself that she doesn’t have to sit in pee or poo. The two times that she told me she had to go and we didn’t make it in time were when I was nursing the newborn, she was a bit annoyed with me as she persisted to try to get me to follow her to the potty. I could tell that she is excited about the potty and very ready for this.

Meanwhile, I am also learning the cues of our newborn…it is a little harder for me to know how to best catch hers…because she doesn’t sit up yet, but I hold her upright over a pre-fold for now…and when she is older I hope to hold her over a bowl or baby potty.

This whole idea of EC makes so much sense…newborns make so much obvious noise and movement and facial expression when they are about to pee or poo, so why NOT take advantage of that to reduce the number of diapers we use!

Anyhow…just wanted to say THANKS SO MUCH for putting together such a wealth of resources and info on EC. I wish more Americans practiced EC rather than waiting to potty train their kids at 2-3 years of age.

~Holly

I did enjoy the 7 secrets, I got really excited every time I got a new email! I had read a fair amount about EC already but your secrets are really what helped me dive in. It definitely felt like a great pep talk. Spending time awake at night in bed reading them on my iPhone was perfect, I was always a little sad when I finished reading one. You have really compiled a wealth of information!

Thanks to your secrets, I:

• Started getting braver about having naked time and found ways to waterproof the environment a bit more. Now we have at least a couple of hours a day nakey butt and I discovered that he DOES have a pee cue!
• Discovered why he was pulling on my boobs while breastfeeding and started pottying him mid feed, it works like a charm!
• Began trusting my intuition more–even on off days (growth spurts!) I find myself checking to see if his diaper is wet just as he is peeing multiple times during a day.
• Take it easier on myself! I like reminding myself to take it one diaper at a time and to do what I can when I can.
• We are doing really well I think, at 3 months we are catching most of his poops and at least 7-8 pees a day! This is really going to come in handy when he starts solids, the breastfed poo doesn’t bother me so much–I consider the poo catches now to be “in training” for the stinkier stuff!
• I recently hurt my back and we had to ease up on the ec, I just couldn’t move him into position so easily. We started going through so many diapers! I didn’t realize how many fewer diapers I was really using. What I realized is that before we really started EC more seriously we were really only changing his diaper after 2-4 pees. So it feels like we are still using the same amount but we are always changing after 1 pee.
• Since we live in NYC we haven’t done so much of it “out and about” but since there aren’t really so many changing tables in the dirty dirty public bathrooms we find I’m already contemplating ways to transform my pre-folds into something more on-the-go EC friendly!

Thanks again for this lovely resource, I don’t think we would have come so far without it!

Sarah

New York City

Hi Charndra,

I found your 7 secrets very encouraging – I did not know this approach was possible and I was sceptical that it would work, particularly as my son is over 1 year.

However, I have been amazed that we can save 3-4 nappies per day.

I don’t mind accidents either, as I think that is better than my son learning to ‘go’ in his nappy. (He likes to stand up, so he has not used the loo/potty yet… not sure what to do about that as he gets wound up if i sit him on the potty!) I use washable nappies in the main and if he can, he sometimes waits until his nappy is off before he wees or poos. I have also noticed that he is starting to communicate before he ‘goes’.

I want to try some training pants now!

I am really impressed by this approach and I think it runs contrary to the culture of disposable nappies, which seems to be: keep the nappy on until it is so heavy it virtually falls off! I admit that this keeps the carpets clean but the poor baby smells!

Thank you for opening my eyes to this EC possibility.

Chloe

Purchase your own copy of my eBook ‘Part Time EC: A Personal Guide to Developing Your Elimination Communication Confidence’

Our baby girl would cry when she needed to poop. Now she looks at me with a silly grin on her face because I’ll put her on the potty and say “poop! poop!” and make farting noises with an animated face. Both of us really enjoy ECing! Thank you Charndra for your supportive and inspiring website.

Chelly, Washington, USA

Hi Charndra!

I have made my first catch! Usually after a bath I leave her diaper free for a few hours, I wrap her in a towel and put a cloth prefold around her bottom so it is there to catch, she usually pees in it while I feed her.

A few days after starting with the secrets she did a “mini fuss” and went back to eating, then she did it again so before she latched on I brought her to the potty and she peed!

We have not caught a poo yet but there has been a few times I thought she had to go then within seconds she did, so I just need to run with my first instincts. So far she has peed on the potty 4 times! I found you in the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt and am so happy that I did.

My name is Erin, my little lady is Layla and we are in Ontario, Canada.

The thing I liked most about the 7 secrets was how practical, to the point and repetitious they were. When certain points were made (particularly, those pertaining to the emotional aspects of practicing EC), it held steadfast in my mind because each Secret was entwined with the previous and the next.

I think the most important thing to keep in mind when practicing EC is keeping check on your mind and heart and I feel those ideas were expressed very well throughout your 7 Secret course. I don’t feel much more encouraged in EC, only because I am already fully encouraged to do this for my son and his well being.. However, your secrets made me feel more confident and comfortable in practicing with my son (It helped me to know I was doing things right).

I don’t feel there was anything said in your Secrets that was redundant, and I think every point or reference made was useful, helpful and necessary. In not so many words, I think they are pretty perfect. 🙂

I was already in the process of practicing EC with my boy when I stumbled across your website, and I feel as if I’m constantly learning and noticing his body language, so, there are many new things I notice about him every time we go potty together.. I think what amazes me most is how much progress we make with each potty time, and how easily he picks up on my signals and verbalisation.

Yesterday was the first day I only had to change 2 full diapers, the rest of his changes were for his diaper inserts (He wore the same diaper while we were out for about 5 hours!).

Thank you so much for this internet tool. It’s more wonderful than words can describe, and I think it’s excellent and appropriate that you offer it for free. It’s amazing the difficulty in trying to find EC resources, especially for someone who doesn’t have any extra money to spend, but wants to do the best for their child.

In my research, I’ve come to the conclusion and personal decision that EC is essential and so important for a child’s development, I wish it was something promoted in the mainstream here in the USA. I also think information and education on it should be a readily and amply available — alas, this is not so.

Thus, again, I thank you for the time it took to put your website together.  Have a nice day!

Beth
Arkansas, USA

…I love that there is so much information on your site!

We are actually just finishing our EC journey with our daughter, she is almost 2 and does very well with the potty during the day.

She still is wearing a diaper at night as we never did EC at night with her, she will have a week where she wakes up dry and then will have a “soaking” wet diaper for a few days, dry for a few days etc.

I’m still not quite sure what to do other than wear a diaper for now, not sure if it’s food sensitivities or not.  Guess I should probably get my butt in gear and keep a journal 🙂

Anyway, I enjoyed reading your articles, I continue to read about EC and usually end up learning more.  I’m trying to encourage more people to try, and love that there is so much information on your site!

Thanks,

Tasha

…I found out that my 8 months old baby is very very clever!

Thank you very much for the “7 Secrets to Developing Your Nappy-Free Confidence”. It was so helpful! There are no books about this in our language and your Secrets are so simple and logical! Thanks again.

Now I feel more encouraged and I want to follow all your suggestions. I want to be closer to my baby!

The 7 Secrets are so simple and so logical! We live in very industrial world but these rules get me closer to the nature! To my baby!!!

Yes, I feel encouraged in my approach to baby pottying. I was actually scared (I remember my younger sister´s pottying and it was like nightmare) but now I am ready!!!

I found out that my 8 months old baby is very very clever! That is amazing! And yes, we saved some nappies, not so much (we are late starters) but we are doing very well!!!

Thank you, I am looking forward to read more about nappy free time!

Romana (in Czechoslovakia)

…It keeps me focused on how “we” do it instead of how one “should” do it…

Thanks for putting all of your information together in a website. It’s been wonderful hearing the stories and getting reinforcement that this process is not an all or nothing! Your 7 secrets helped me to keep the right mindset while we started our journey. And loved, loved, loved the potty songs!! My daughter is 7 months old and really getting into new songs, so she loves when I sing them to her. Thank you for everything!

The main benefit was to learn that this is a process that will have misses and setbacks and that just about everyone has them. I loved the personal stories that highlight the individuality of each family’s journey. It keeps me focused on how “we” do it instead of how one “should” do it.

I believe my daughter is having a bit of trouble with teething again and her digestive system is adjusting to solids so she’s not the most responsive the last couple of days. She was not okay wearing a diaper and let me know it! Thank you for reminding me to stay relaxed and light-hearted. It made for a pleasant day, since it allowed me to better tune in to the fact that she was having a rough day and offer extra cuddling and sympathy. 🙂

Jennifer in Michigan, USA.

Fun… Helpful… Inspirational!

“Charndra’s Seven Secrets to Developing Your Nappy-Free Confidence is the perfect way to begin your EC journey, but also to give anyone a boost no matter what stage they are at with their baby and the whole process.

She has a way of making what sounds difficult, very do-able, and also stress-free…because with a little baby, who needs more stress? :0)”

Shell, mother of three (youngest an EC baby), New Zealand.

… It’s like having an early warning detection system!

 

The most interesting thing I have found from our EC adventure in general is that I always know when my baby is about to get sick or do something new. Two days before illness or a milestone she wees everywhere, refuses to be squatted but wees on the floor two seconds later and is generally very difficult to live with. It’s like having an early warning detection system!

Sonya in the Northern Territory, Australia

…I’m very happy not to know what it’s like to have to change a pooey nappy…

Hi Charndra,

Just a quick hello from me and my baby girl (BB), 5 months.
BB is getting the idea about toilet/poos/wees and nappy free. The summer is a great time to get more into nappy free at home.

She’s been an EC baby from birth and I’m very happy not to know what it’s like to have to change a pooey nappy. We have spent a lot of time with BB giving her pottitunities while singing her favourite songs/reading books and chatting.

She now says “Po” and it clearly means a number 2 is on the way. Now the communication is starting to flow in both directions and its all making sense.

Thanks for your amazing efforts in allowing parents access to information about nappy free. What a great resource and a relief for the planet.

Kind Regards, Sherilee in South Australia

Heather Road (Traditional & Contemporary Music)

And I am finding that the EC thing is not as hard as it appeared… It feels great to be doing it…

It is a great idea to have a series of secrets, it is a nice introduction to EC to help build one’s confidence and understanding of the process.

I found the secrets to be very helpful and reassuring – reminded me that it’s a process not an end result that I’m after. It’s great to have the Secrets to go back to at any time to get extra reassurance, motivation, a reminder of things that I haven’t tried for a while.

Staying light-hearted is a great way to start. This is something that I guess is important all the way through, so its a really good mindset to get into right from the start.

I like that you start by saying EC is adaptable to your lifestyle – makes it seem much less daunting and scary. It helps to remove those doubts like ‘but I can’t do it because we go out too much or its my 2nd child’ (the 2nd child thing did it for me for a long time, I felt like I couldn’t give him the attention it would need, but its actually meant I’m giving both kids more attention (myself too) which is great!

In fact, doing EC improved my communication all around with both kids – not just in terms of toileting but understanding their needs across the board. I think they also communicate more clearly because they know I’m paying attention. I also feel like I pay attention to my own body’s messages (toileting, hunger, tiredness etc) much more than I used to.

It is also good also that you reinforce that its OK to use nappies part time and that there is the option of using nappies all the time but still being aware of their elimination needs.

‘Do whatever suits the situation’ is an excellent tip, helps to stop me getting caught up in the idea that I’m failing if I’m not doing it today or if he’s in nappies all day or I forget to give him a pee opportunity.

And I am finding that the EC thing is not as hard as it appeared… It feels great to be doing it. I’m surprised too at how aware its making me all round – my daughter is in the process of moving out of diapers herself (she has about half her time in nappies and half nudie or in undies) and even though I was doing that in a very relaxed way already, I am so much more relaxed about it now and she hasn’t had an accident since I started doing this with my son- its like we’re all so much more in tune.

Annie, Melbourne, Australia. Annie started EC with her son at 10 months of age. She has an older daughter as well.

…we understood each other and that he trusted me to help him…

“The 7 Secrets are very simply set out, and could very well convert someone into trying EC. I confess to having read your website many times over the last year or so, so the ideas were not entirely new to me. I think it’s good that it reiterates that misses are normal, and ok!

I started EC with Callum at 6wks, he’s now almost 4 months, and some of my most interesting observations have been the intuition that develops (or expands?). I’ve had many catches due to “acting on random potty thoughts”. It was also lovely the first time that he looked up at me while he peed (in the early days), and seemed to acknowledge that we understood each other and that he trusted me to help him.”
Kerryn

Thorough… Encouraging… Easy…

“Even the most unsure brand new Mum or Dad could soon become an EC expert with Charndra’s course. It is broken down in to manageable bits so people can get started right away. All the thinking is done for you and You can feel that anyone can do this; and there is great flexibility. What a wonderful, fun way to enhance the relationship between you and your tiny perfect progeny!”

Shell, mother of three (youngest an EC baby), New Zealand.

Thank you for your 7 Secrets.

We are two months into the potty journey with my 7 month old with 98% of bowel actions on the potty. He also does a wee each time he is on the potty, but still has wet nappies in between.

We both love doing the potty learning.

Thanks for your site, I will certainly be referring others who are beginners to it.

Cheers
Lynelle in Australia

…The pot pot lives in the toilet room now and most times when I myself go for a wee wee on the ‘big’ pot pot I take Sage in and offer her a seat!

Hi Charndra

Thank you thank you thank you, your ‘Seven Secrets’ are an asset in our household, I hope you enjoy the following story of our experience so far…………

Learning about the potty at 10 months of age has been a wonderful experience not only for my daughter (Sage) but everyone and anyone who is in the household at the time of being ‘nappy free’!

We have always given Sage ‘nappy free’ time ever since she was born, I have always been a believer of ‘flying free’ – some days everything just needs a good airing! Anyway it wasn’t until I signed up for the ‘Seven Secrets’ that I realised this ‘nappy free’ time can be utilised into some fun potty training.

As mentioned in your ‘Seven Secrets’ the poo poos are much easier to read then wee wees but we are getting there and enjoying every step of the way!

When nappy free and a wee occurs we praise Sage for doing so and place her on the potty singing “weeeeee on the potteeeee” with big grins and more praise overdose.

On successful notes there have been the times when we have read Sages body ‘motions’ in time to place her on the pot pot for a poo poo. One particular time Sage actually had a nappy on when her Grandma noticed her in ‘motion’, took the nappy off and placed her on the potty where Sage stayed until the ‘motion’ was complete and the potty full. Praise and rounds of applause were in abundance, as you could imagine.

The pot pot lives in the toilet room now and most times when I myself go for a wee wee on the ‘big’ pot pot I take Sage in and offer her a seat!

After reading the ‘Seven Secrets’ and other tidbits on your website I realise that it seems to be just ‘common sense’ really the practise of EC however most people are in too much of a hurry these days to take the time out for their most precious asset.

THANK YOU for taking time out to compile this information and sharing!

Annette

… Anyone can see the positives of getting poos in the toilet rather than the nappy!

Your guide and 7 secrets make EC sound achievable for a “normal” mum and family. I guess the few unfavourable media portrayals have made EC seem a very weird practice.

I really liked reading the personal stories, to see how different families approach EC and how they define the process. It is really reassuring to consider a “part time” approach to EC. I also appreciated the emails arriving every few days – it was a little boost to keep me trying!

I used nappies full time for Catherine for the first couple of months, then started offering the potty. It really is such a thrill to understand a baby’s signs and get a catch! Then I signed up for the “7 Secrets” and these gave me a real boost to keep on going, as well as some tips to try.

We have had some wonderfully successful days – such as using only 2 cloth nappies in one day. It’s obvious that she usually prefers to eliminate anywhere else than her nappy, and if we have a miss, it usually that I have missed or misinterpreted her signs. Of course some days the nappy bucket is completely full and I wonder if there is any point to offering a potty-opportunity after each of all these wet nappies!

We still use nappies full- time – I think of the cloth nappy as her undies, and try to help her keep them dry. Of course some days we have more catches than others, but we very rarely have a pooey nappy. We just use disposables at night.

My extended family have been quite interested and supportive of this latest venture. Anyone can see the positives of getting poos in the toilet rather than the nappy! They are as surprised as I am that Catherine can ‘hang on’ until I get her to the toilet. So much for the theory that babies have no bladder or bowel control. My mum is always impressed when she sees us get a catch. “You’re very clever”, she says. “At least one of you is, anyway!”

Thanks, Charndra. Your enthusiasm for EC is infectious!

Helen in Australia.

I began, much more purposefully, to create non hectic days, or at least a much less hectic lifestyle.

“Being a new mum was a joy and EC was revelatory and freeing, in many ways realizing the implications of “to practice or to not practice EC” – was actually incredibly profound for me. It made me realize how powerful my choices were as a mother and what a political act I was making in choosing to commit to EC. As I did commit, I found that I was doing such an unusual practice created a different challenge to the previous challenge I had of dealing with the feeling of “wrongness” associated with ‘ignoring’ my babies elimination processes.

When I let a little EC into my life it TRANSFORMED me and my life as I realized what an important role I played in influencing the level and quality of my connection and communication with my baby through this and other AP practices. This realization was very CONFRONTING to me at first because it made me acutely aware how responsible I was for the kind of life I created, as a mother, for my child. With this new consciousness I began, much more purposefully, to create non hectic days, or at least a much less hectic lifestyle.

It’s funny how such a fundamental living act of helping one’s baby toilet can be so profound and have so much philosophy attached to it!!!”
Annabelle H, Adelaide, South Australia

It is AMAZING how communicative a baby can be when you listen!

Just a quick note to thank-you SO much for your wonderful wonderful website. I have poured over every single inch of it and think it’s positively inspired stuff.

We have an 11 week old baby boy, Lucien, who has taken to EC like a duck to water. It is AMAZING (as I’m sure you know) how communicative a baby can be when you listen! We have an almost 80% success rate at home without a diaper in sight. But most of all it has made me understand him and, I think, him me, so well. And I’m so proud of him! I can’t believe everyone doesn’t do this with their bubs. It makes me feel sorry for all those babies who cry out for a wee and then have to do it in their diaper, and eventually give up communicating.
Charla and Lucien, Alice Springs, Australia.

My husband is especially pleased as he was dreading pooey diapers, and we very rarely have any.

I thought I’d write and tell you what EC means to us………

For our family EC has opened up a whole new world. I stumbled across the concept in a parenting magazine while I was pregnant and though that sounds like too much work, but couldn’t get it out of my mind. I had already decided I was using cloth diapers and had made them ready to go….I had to use them after all that work.

But EC made sense. Conventional Toilet Training doesn’t when you think about it, so I thought I’d give it a go and if it saved one nappy a day that would be great.

I had no idea that at 16 months my little boy would hardly be wearing nappies, and we would have so few messy nappies to clean.

My husband is especially pleased as he was dreading pooey nappies, and we very rarely have any.

Through EC we found out about baby sign language, attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding, and many other parenting choices that I hadn’t heard of. I’m so pleased as we weren’t happy with what everyone else was telling us to do.

So thank goodness for EC, Your website is great I’ll be passing it on to any curious mums I meet.

Nicole, in Australia

Purchase your own copy of my eBook ‘Part Time EC: A Personal Guide to Developing Your Elimination Communication Confidence’